Whispers On The Wind

After months of work, the new series debuted yesterday evening at the Langhenrich Gallery in the Unitarian Universalist church in Fort Wayne! The series is a tribute to my mother, who passed away May 23, 2009.

The piece above is Voices in the Forest, a digital collage on rust-dyed fabric. The backing is also rust-dyed fabric and includes the quotation: "How quiet the forest would be if only he with the best voice sang!"

These digital collages, such as Secrets of the Butterfly Fairy, above, combine vintage artwork and photographs I have taken.

There are 12 pieces in the series. They all, including Naptime Escape (above) have cold-forged copper "frames" that have been flashed with a propane torch (takes longer than it sounds) and sealed with Earth Safe Finishes Sealer to prevent color change.

You can see the stencil layer in most of the photos, including Mushroom Girl (above)

All collages were printing in black and white, even Invitation to Tea (above) and then color was added with Earth Safe Finishes watercolor recipe for fabric.

How High The Moon is a particular favorite! The delicate rusted tie-dye background enriches the moonscape with texture. The moon is highlighted with a shimmering gold metallic paint, the stars are white metallic, and the tree is heavily textured with free-motion stitching.

Guarding the Gerberas is on heavily rusted fabric. It was one of the original two compositions that led to this series. I learned a lot about printing on rust-dyed fabric!

The background fabric for Flight Lessons (above) was rusted with springs from the seat of an old chair.

Morning of the Unicorn features distressed mylar wrapping paper cut into shapes and then stitched to the background.

The 12" x 12" square art quilt Whispers on the Wind (above) was made for Rust Tex's exhibition. If juried into the show, it will travel to England for their quilt festival. (Not that I'm hinting, Lois!)

The background began as a digital collage of photographs and vintage artwork printed on rust-dyed fabric. I added a wash of green for the forest floor, white for a shaft of light, and blue for the sky using Earth Safe Finishes Colorant + Fabric Magic + lots of water.

Free-motion stitching in a variegated black/brown thread was worked on the main tree, while monofilament was stitched free-form to represent sunlight through the forest canopy and wind through the tree branches.

Glass and stone beads were stitched on the surface by hand and the edges were finished with satin stitches.

The composition recalls a trip to the woods in early spring with my mother and grandmother to see the wild flowers. I was disappointed when my grandmother gently informed me the flowers had to stay in the forest; they would be unhappy in the garden at home. To entertain myself, I pretended the wind through the tree branches was the voice of many fairies whispering to me.

It's remarkable to me that this image, the colors, sounds, smells, and emotions are so vivid to me after 50 years or so—and a pleasant way to remember a day with two women so influential in my life!